Explanations on monetization thinking on SotA

Yes they are just an ingredient used in the repair process, just like if you changed it to coal and ingots for Metal, Wax and cloth for Cloth, these coins are just an ingredient used to restore max durability, does that make sense? Prob not since it doesn't fit peoples agenda to remove them from the process all together but it works for me

 

I do not think overpriced coffee should be used as a metric for affordability...

 

and when the other half bitches because they got killed by someone in there underwear? lol you know it's going to happen lol


i am curious though, what is the intended viabilty of a player that does no crafting or gathering, or that guy who only pvp's?

 

No I get that.. it's the ingredient used in the repair process but not actually used for repair that you stated earlier. I was just pointing out the contradiction.

 

@Chris Is this based on 1 week playing time or game time? If it's game time then those that have less time on their hands end up getting less value out of a crown.

 

Lol I think, people care more about the functionality of crafting than they do the main topic.

 

Thank you, @Chris

One thing I would like to see is an actual Crafter being needed to affect Durability Repairs. As it is currently implemented, you simply drop the item on the table with a crown, hit the repair button, and your equipment is like new again. Is it intended to stay this way, or will a Crafter be needed, and the efficacy of the repair dependent on their level of repair skill?

A simple formula might be a 90 Repair Skill Crafter might be able to repair 90% of the difference between Current and Maximum Durability. Any Crafter of 100 skill of more would be able to take it to "Like New" condition.

This would allow the Crafters to sell their services for Durability Repair, and might even be moved to keep a supply of Gold Crowns of the Obsidians on hand to sell to customers for the purpose.

 

I'm glad the whining and bitching of many outraged players (yours truly in front row as poopstorm propeller) helped for a deeper and more accurate evaluation of the whole subject. YOU'RE WELCOME, PORT!

With COTOs at 0 NPC value, most of my terror is gone. I'm glad @Chris used basically the same example I posted on Steam forums in reply to @argyle about his concern in the cash>gold transactions (the Ornated Phonograph case study).

Still deeply concerned about the PR aspect - not touched in Chris WoT, nor in hangout for that matter, or anywhere else. Well, probably not what the OP was about anyway.

Thank you for your time to explain, *that* is very appreciated, no matter the outcome.

 

Agreed.

If I'm not very good at Blacksmithing, I'd like to have a reason to take my Obsidian Crown to a player character that is good at that and need them to repair my item. That keeps players in the loop, always.

 

Yes, I think that's even more important than hampering repair ability to keeping crafters in the loop.

 

You are speaking directly from my heart. Fully agree every word.

 

Yep, it's the one thing still bugging me about the whole Crown's thing is the negative PR and perception that people are forking out $45 for the game AND then being hit with micro transactions. I still don't know how the hell Port. are going to be able to communicate that effectively.

 

On one hand I agree poorley coomunicated and not the most creative. On the other hand I want them to be very profitable. Id suggest some outside the box thinking here, im not compairng this to runescape but for some reason those fears have surfaced a few times in the lastcouple of days for me.

Between my accounts ive already spent 2k and honestly I cant see a reason to spend more. Please give me a reason to spend more. Also you need to tap the incoming majority who are not yet playing. You wont get much from the crown system out of them. See my first post I have a solution for you there.

 

Its just a matter of urgency. If people don't feel like they are getting forced to buy, Port just needs to message that.

With weapon dura changes and the bug fix on armor, Chris' message might actually be closer to reality. Hopefully that nonurgency is real.​

 

Yes, but my point is not about reality, but rather perceptions... e.g. Some one who has no experience with the game and is reading up deciding if they want to buy it and then read about the COTOs - what is their perception of the game? I think they need to do some research on this before official launch day.

 

RMT item stores are pretty common these days - provided Shroud doesn't get the reputation of the being one of the more flagrant, i don't know that it will be a big issue.

 

There is a scale for sure, its where they end up on that scale that matters.

 

Agreed. If Chris' numbers check out - then I'd expect them to be middle of the pack. In the current state I'd put them halfway between midlevel and flagrant. I expect the dura bug is going to make a big dif when fixed considering how much i've been crashing while fighting.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation Chris.

As others have mentioned, I think that there is a bit of an imbalance on npc armor atm in that it is very cheap and dissuades people from using crafted armor. This is especially true when it can be enchanted and made to be half decent at a very low cost.

My suggestion would be to either reduce the max durability of vendor armor down to <30 so that it can't be enchanted, or to 30 so that it can only take a single enchant and have a short life with 20 durability. Either way, it devalues this armor to the point that crafted armor becomes more attractive again due to the extra durability. It would still have 20-30 'bear hours' durability, and as long as it is affordable to the new low level outlander it helps the push towards the next step which is basic crafted gear.

 

My wife is now requesting a bear clock to keep track of the bear hours...